Alright I give... I need some help with my hatch!! I’ve gotten around to work on getting the hatch grip/plate lights working again. Typical rusted out corroded grip area.

So I replaced the lock mechanism and now when I pull on my Trunk cord the hatch will open. (Previous owner tied a cord from the emergency release under the seat)

But I’ve also replaced the grip with a brand new one. I’ve had to splice it into the body harness since the connector was corroded. When I test the connection with my multimeter the wires are connected and voltage is flowing but... the lights don’t turn on and the grip does nothing when clicked.



So all the other exterior lights work, the rear wiper is also working and the car knows when the hatch is open.

I've also gathered through trial and error the following:

When I place a momentary switch between the Gray/Brown and Brown wires the switch activate the hatch release as normal (when the car is unlocked)
On the grip side if I join the gray/brown and Gray/yellow together (+) put voltage through it to the brown wire (-) the license plate lights work!

But again when I match the wires color for color on the body harness and the grip nothing happens....

What am I missing???